Washing Drum Unit With A Jet Spray

ABSTRACT

A drum and tub assembly for a washing machine has a rotatable drum including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end on the cylindrical wall. The base includes a projecting member to space clothes in the drum from the base. At least one slot is in the base to enable passage of water into the drum. A tub includes a cylindrical wall and a base at one end of the cylindrical wall. The tub receives the rotatable drum within the cylindrical wall. The tub includes a water inlet in line with the at least one slot so that as the at least one slot is aligned with the water inlet, water is sprayed into the drum. A meshing arrangement is positioned between the drum base and the tub base to reduce a gap between the drum and tub and provide a forced passage maintaining the water at the inlet.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to washing appliances, such as a washing machine, that includes a jet spray from the back side of the drum unit.

BACKGROUND

In current washing machines, the procedure to wet and rinse clothes positioned inside the drum unit is to pump water from the tub bottom side. Gradually, the water level rises reaching the clothes to be wetted or rinsed. This process, although very simple, is often times time consuming and ineffective. This is due to the fact that the bottom portion of the tub needs to be filled before the water level reaches the clothes. Accordingly, this is an inefficient and an ineffective way of the wetting/rinsing phase of adding water to the tub.

In prior art washing machines, jet spray from the back side of the drum uses complex dedicated drum and tub configurations. These configurations include cavities and pipes that need to be preventably filled with water. This increases the required pumping capacity. Additionally, since some of the features are assembled on the drum, the dynamic performance is effected due to the increase inertia. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,395 B2 and U.S. Publ. No. 2006/0081018 A2.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art references. The present disclosure provides a simple design providing a jet spray from the drum rear and tub assembly. The present disclosure eliminates attached features to the drum therefore eliminating the increased inertia effect. Also, the present disclosure provides modifications to the drum back to provide a jet spray.

SUMMARY

According to a first object of the disclosure, a drum and tub assembly for a washing machine comprises a rotatable drum including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end of the cylindrical wall. The base includes a projecting member to space clothes in the drum from the base. At least one slot or aperture is in the base. The at least one slot or aperture enables the passage of water into the drum. A tub includes a cylindrical wall and a base at one end. The tub receives the rotating drum within its cylindrical wall. The tub includes a water inlet aligned with the at least one slot or aperture so that as the at least one slot or aperture is aligned with the water inlet, water is sprayed into the drum. A meshing arrangement is positioned between the drum base and the tub base. The meshing arrangement reduces a gap between the drum and tub to provide a force passage to maintain the water at the inlet. The projection member includes a plurality of propeller-like members. The drum base includes a plurality, preferably three arcuate slots. The meshing arrangement includes a plurality of projections on the drum and tub. The projections are concentric. Also, the projections are spaced with respect to one another to provide an interleaving or alternating arrangement of the projections. Thus, the projections form a labyrinth seal.

According to a second object of the disclosure, a washing machine comprises a housing unit to receive a drum and tub assembly. A door is coupled with the housing to enable access into the drum and tub assembly. The drum and tub assembly comprising a rotatable drum including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end of the cylindrical wall. The base includes a projecting member to space clothes in the drum from the base. At least one slot or aperture is in the base. The at least one slot or aperture enables the passage of water into the drum. A tub includes a cylindrical wall and a base at one end. The tub receives the rotating drum within its cylindrical wall. The tub includes a water inlet aligned with the at least one slot or aperture so that as the at least one slot or aperture is aligned with the water inlet, water is sprayed into the drum. A meshing arrangement is positioned between the drum base and the tub base. The meshing arrangement reduces a gap between the drum and tub to provide a force passage to maintain the water at the inlet. The projection member includes a plurality of propeller-like members. The drum base includes a plurality, preferably three arcuate slots. The meshing arrangement includes a plurality of projections on the drum and tub. The projections are concentric. Also, the projections are spaced with respect to one another to provide an interleaving or alternating arrangement of the projections. Thus, the projections form a labyrinth seal.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine appliance.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the tub and drum assembly.

FIG. 3 is an perspective exploded view of the tub and drum assembly.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective partially in cross-section of the inlet with a slot aligned with the inlet.

FIG. 5 is a view like FIG. 4 without alignment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Turning to the figures, a washing machine is illustrated and designated with the reference numeral 10. The washing machine 10 includes a housing unit 12 with a door 14 enabling access inside of the machine 10. A drum and tub assembly 16 is positioned inside of the housing unit 12.

The drum and tub assembly 16 includes a drum 18 positioned within a tub 20. The drum 18 includes a cylindrical wall 22 and a back base 24 at one end. The other end of the drum 18 is opened to enable receipt of clothes. The back base 24 of the drum 18 includes a plurality of projections 28 on its inner surface extending into a cavity defined by the cylindrical wall 22 and back base 24. The projections 28 provide the drum back base 24 with an overall propeller like shape. The projections 28 space clothes from the back of the base 24. Thus, as the drum 18 rotates, the clothes are spaced away from the back base 24. The back base 24 includes at least one arcuate slot 32. As shown, three slots are present. The slots or apertures 32 enable water to be sprayed into the drum 18, while it rotates, to provide a spray jet for the drum 18. The outer surface 36 of the back base 24 includes at least one meshing projection 38. The projections 38 mesh with like projections on the tub 20 as will be discussed herein. Also, the drum 18 includes a shaft 40 that fits through the tub 20 and is connected with a motor to rotate the drum 18 within the tub 20.

The tub 20 includes a cylindrical wall 42 and a base 44. The tub 20 is stationarily positioned within the washing machine 10. The base 44 includes at least one projection 46 that is positioned to mesh with the drum projections 38. Thus, an interleaved or alternating set of projections are positioned adjacent one another. These projections provide a labyrinth type of seal. The projections 38, 46 are arranged as a meshing arrangement to reduce the gap between the drum 18 and tub 20 to provide a force passage to maintain water at the inlet 48.

The inlet 48 projects through the tub base 44 and is coupled with a water source to be sprayed into the drum 18. The inlet 48 can have a cylindrical or conical type of surface to inject the water into the drum 18 through the slots 32 in the back base 24. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the inlet 48 is aligned with the slots 32, water is sprayed into the drum 18. As the drum 18 continues to rotate, the slots 32 are not aligned with the inlet 48 as illustrated in FIG. 5. When this occurs, the water is maintained around the inlet due to the meshing arrangement of the projections 38, 46 providing the labyrinth seal. Additionally, if water seeps below the meshing arrangement, the water will be able to seep into the drum via holes in the cylindrical wall of the drum 18 that are not shown.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A drum and tub assembly for a washing machine comprising: a rotatable drum including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end on the cylindrical wall, the base including a projecting member for spacing clothes in the drum from the base, at least one slot in the base, the slot enabling the passage of water into the drum; a tub including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end of the cylindrical wall, the tub receiving the rotatable drum within the cylindrical wall, the tub including a water inlet in line with the at least one slot so that as the at least one slot is aligned with the water inlet, water is sprayed into the drum; and a meshing arrangement positioned between the drum base and the tub base, the meshing arrangement reducing a gap between the drum and tub and providing a forced passage maintaining the water at the inlet.
 2. The drum and tub assembly of claim 1, wherein the projection member includes a plurality of propeller like members.
 3. The drum and tub assembly of claim 1, wherein the drum base includes three slots.
 4. The drum and tub assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one slot is arcuate.
 5. The drum and tub assembly of claim 1, wherein the meshing arrangement includes a plurality of projections on the drum and tub.
 6. The drum and tub assembly of claim 5, wherein the projections are concentric.
 7. The drum and tub assembly of claim 6, wherein the projections are spaced with respect to one another providing an alternating arrangement.
 8. The drum and tub assembly of claim 6, wherein the projections form a labyrinth seal.
 9. A washing machine comprising: a housing for receiving a drum and tub assembly; a door coupled with the housing for enabling access to the drum and tub assembly, the drum and tub assembly comprising: a rotatable drum including cylindrical wall and a base at one end on the cylindrical wall, the base including a projecting member for spacing clothes in the drum from the base, at least one slot in the base, the slot enabling the passage of water into the drum; a tub including a cylindrical wall and a base at one end of the cylindrical wall, the tub receiving the rotatable drum within the cylindrical wall, the tub including an water inlet in line with the at least one slot so that as the at least one slot is aligned with the water inlet, water is sprayed into the drum; and a meshing arrangement positioned between the drum base and the tub base, the meshing arrangement reducing a gap between the drum and tub and providing a forced passage maintaining the water at the inlet.
 10. The washing machine of claim 9, wherein the projection member includes a plurality of propeller like members.
 11. The washing machine of claim 9, wherein the drum base includes three slots.
 12. The washing machine of claim 9, wherein the at least one slot is arcuate.
 13. The washing machine of claim 9, wherein the meshing arrangement includes a plurality of projections on the drum and tub.
 14. The washing machine of claim 13, wherein the projections are concentric.
 15. The washing machine of claim 14, wherein the projections are spaced with respect to one another providing an alternating arrangement.
 16. The washing machine of claim 14, wherein the projections form a labyrinth seal. 